Mistakes: It's Programmed
by Culpeo Fox
Summary: When GIR finally seems to push Zim over the edge, he is told to leave.  But when Zim gets a rather depressing transmission, he may realize that himself and GIR are more similar than he thought.  But is it too late to find his only true friend?


**Alright, so, I've written fanfics before, but for pretty basic and flat-ish characters. It is my first Invader Zim fanfic, so I hope I did justice... at least for the purpose of this idea/story.**

**It is very early in the morning... 1 or 2 am possibly... Insomnia does that to me... telling time gets harder. And after a few days of no sleep... I just think. And this is the outcome of one of those thinking things. And my left hand is quite asleep.. i can't really feel it and it just fascinates me... lol. So, sorry for mayor typos if there are any (Which there probably will be.)**

**So, without furthure adue.**

**Invader Zim (c) Jhonen Vasquez**

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Mistakes

Chapter 1.

A weekday. Weekdays where the worst. Why? Because GIR was home… alone. While his master, Zim, went to skool to study the hyuman race, GIR was at home. All alone.

GIR sat on the couch, the remote to the T.V resting beside him. He slouched even further, his robotic frame sinking deeper into the back of the sofa. His cyan eyes trailed from the Evil Monkey on T.V - who seems to have lost the entertainment it once held - to the clock. Half an hour more of this. GIR couldn't stand it, and his robot mind reeled with everything else that could be happening right now if his master was not a skool.

GIR flipped himself around, so he was now watching T.V with his head dangling and the ends of his legs resting against the back of the sofa. Pushing his tiny hands onto the floor, he leaned forward, bracing himself against the couch before pushing off, now balancing on his hands and head. His eyes drifted to the clock again. 28 minutes to go.

"Master's always disappointed when he comes into the home…" GIR was thinking out loud to himself, remembering the last time Zim came back from school, angered and muttering in Irken about the filthy Earth-monkeys… GIR remembers that Zim was also steaming as he came in… water perhaps?

GIR flipped himself upright, pushing off the floor with his hands and into the air. Twisting his body into a double series of flips, he landed a few feet in front of the sofa in a crouched position, his eyes catching and little yellow and black object resting on the floor beside the couch.

"ROBOT BEE!!!" GIR exclaimed happily, running towards the little robotic bee.

Picking it up, the wings started to flutter and GIR let it go, watching as it flew around the room. Laughing, GIR ran around with the Robot Bee, playing a game of trying to catch it. The Bee flew into the next room and hit the wall, falling down the garbage elevator and into the under ground lab. GIR was about to jump right in after the Robotic Bee, when he remembered an order from his master.

"_GIR," Zim started, pacing back and forth in the front room, putting on his disguise to go out into the hyuman world, "I have a little request I want you to obey."_

"_Yeeeeeesssss?" GIR looked at Zim quickly, before his gaze shifted back to the T.V._

"_GIR!" Zim stopped moving, standing in front of GIR. His voice was louder, and commanded attention from the SIR unit. _

_GIR's eyes flashed a bright red and he jumped off of the couch, the ends of his legs hitting the floor with a loud clanking noise, "Yes, Master?"_

"_It's not that I don't trust you…" Zim's voice relaxed a bit, still commanding attention, but not as loud. He resumed pacing, "Just don't go down to the lab. I'm working on a very powerful…" Zim paused, waving a gloved hand back and forth in a circle. The thing is… Zim didn't even really know what it was he would call it… he just knew that it was very powerful, and would most definitely be a great help in destroying the hyumans, "bomb _thing_. So you know… just stay _out _of the lab."_

_GIR nodded once, his white hand snapping into a salute, "Yes, sir."_

GIR sat down in front of the garbage can elevator and let out a sigh. Leaning back onto his hands, he watched the shiny garbage can. Maybe the Bee would come back up. So, GIR waited, sitting in front of the garbage for a length of time. Finally, deciding that he will have to go get the Bee himself, he stood placing his hands onto the side of the garbage and leaned over.

"ROBOT BEE!!!!" GIR called down the elevator, "COME BACK! YOU CAN'T GO DOWN TO THE LAB!"

With each word he shouted, GIR leaned further and further over the edge of the garbage until his feet where suspended completely in the air. He was soon lying almost flat and parallel to the ground when his grip started to slip. Before GIR could scramble back or catch himself on something, he was slipping and falling down the tunnel to the lab.

But GIR forgot his orders. The order to stay out of the lab. The only thing on the little robot's mind was to find the Robot Bee and continue their game of chase. So, instead of the feeling of worry or dread as he fell down the tunnel, GIR was feeling exhilarated and excited at the fast rate he was falling down. Screams and squeals of joy escaped the robot's mouth and his arms and legs flailed wildly at the falling experience.

It was all fun, that is, until the bottom came quicker than GIR thought, and he crash landed to the hard, metal floor.

"Whoo…" GIR exhaled heavily, "Hi floor! Have you seen Robot BEE!?"

Sitting up, GIR looked around and saw the little Robot Bee. It was off now, and sitting on top of a small pedestal. He ran towards it, reaching out to grasp the Bee before it decided to start up and fly around. Of course, GIR was only focused on getting the Bee, and did not take in the surroundings, not realizing that the floor was quite littered with tools and parts for the machine Zim was working on.

"ROBOT BEE!!!" GIR exclaimed happily, as he quickly got closer to the little Bee, "I'm gonna catch you! And then we'll go play outs-"

GIR didn't finish his sentence. His foot caught on the edge of a tool, and he was flung forward. Arms outstretched, GIR was only even more excited at his sudden new way of transporting himself to the Bee. It may have been unintentional, but now, GIR was gliding towards the Bee, flying almost. Quickly pulling his feet from behind him, GIR made an almost smooth landing, stumbling around a bit before regaining balance.

Smiling, the robot reached out to grab the Bee. Plucking it up off the pedestal, he noticed it was sitting on a red button. It was not pushed down though, and although GIR thought about pushing it himself - red buttons _were_ alluring - he shook his head and reminded himself he just came down to get the Bee.

Spinning around on his heel, GIR took a step forward, with the Bee clutched tightly under his arm. Stepping on the side of one particular round tool, his foot slipped from underneath him and he fell backwards. Not wanting to land on the floor again, GIR reached out with his unoccupied arm and his hand hit the center on top of the pedestal. A small click was heard, as the button was pushed down. Pulling himself up, using the pedestal as a firm hold, GIR looked around to see what the button did. Shrugging it off as an either incomplete button or just plain old defective, he returned towards the elevator and was about to request to be taken back to the main floor when suddenly lights started to flair up behind him.

GIR spun around, and watched the lights, flickering on and off, as a small alarm was heard, beeping repeatedly.

"Uh-ooh…" GIR breathed out worriedly as the machine in front of him started to smoke and tremble.

Holding the Robot Bee tighter, GIR screamed out a request to get to the main floor. Halfway up the elevator, there was a sudden suck it seemed of space. There was no sound for a second, and GIR thought the machine had turned off. Only as soon as his head past the side of the garbage can did the machine finally react.

With a loud explosion, GIR was shot up and slammed against the roof of the house. The little Robot Bee dropped from his arms and back down the garbage elevator.

"Noooo!" ROBOT BEE!!!" GIR cried out, reaching for the Bee as his own body started to fall from the roof.

GIR never reached the Bee. Instead, the Bee reached GIR first, and after the Bee came another fiery explosion thrusting GIR, the Robot Bee and half of the house's roof high up into the air. GIR, being lighter, did not exactly go as high as half the roof of the house and soon dropped back down to the main floor of the base. Before GIR could get his bearings and fully try to stop the roof from coming back down on top of him, it did exactly that and GIR was crushed under the weight and force of the impact.

Rebooting his system. GIR's eyes turned back into the cyan from the lifeless grey and he took in his surroundings. There was a thick dust around the air, and half the house was crumbled. Or… most of the house was crumbled. The far right wall with the T.V was still standing, and wires expelled from the small part of roof left, electrical currents sparking blue and white before dying out. The Voot Cruiser was also in ruins, smashed and smoking from the explosion.

GIR stood up slowly, and took a step forward. A crunching sound came from where his foot had stepped, and he lifted it up again, only to find that the Robot Bee was crushed, burned, steaming and broken.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" GIR cried out as he knelt down in front of the little Bee. "We just started playing! You can't be broken!"

"GIR!"

GIR straightened up quickly, and spun around. A shape was standing before him in the dust.

"HI MASTER!" GIR exclaimed, all previous experience and emotion replaced with joy as his master finally was released from the skool and hyuman studying to come home.

"GIR! WHAT DID YOU _DO_!?" Zim's form began to solidify through the mist, his face of disbelief. He was hunched over slightly, his arms hanging down limply, as was his jaw.

"Oh… what?" GIR twisted his torso and looked around him. His eyes closed into little happy slits and his hand went to the back of his head, "Oh! Robot Bee fell down the elevator and I got him… but the button made the base go boom!" He turned back to his master,

Jerking his head away from the destruction that was his base, Zim's eyes narrowed and locked onto GIR. GIR just stared back, closed his eyes happily and waved.

"You went down into the _lab_!?" Zim yelled, furious at the SIR unit, "After I told… no… _ordered_ you to stay OUT!"

"But… But Robot Bee…" GIR mumbled out, clasping his hands behind his back and digging into some of the metal remains of what was once part of the base and house.

"No GIR! No behinds! Do you NOT understand what you have done!?" Zim started walking towards the robot, "The _damage_ you have created! You're lucky most of the worm-babies on this dirt-planet are to _stupid_ to recognize things like this!" Zim was now standing overtop of GIR, glaring down at the robot, "It will take days…_ weeks_ to fix this place up! Even for ZIM!"

"I is sorry, master…" GIR continued to mumble, his cyan eyes tilting upwards near the top, "I just wanted to get Robot B…" GIR remembered now that the Robot Bee was too, destroyed.

Zim paid no attention to the apologizing SIR unit. Instead, he quickly glanced around before taking out a small rectangular silver box from his PAK. Opening the lid, his fingers hit the little buttons almost at random before throwing it to the ground in front of… or what would have been, his base. A holographic image quickly sprang up, mimicking the base and covering up the debris the explosion left behind.

"It was a bomb, GIR." Zim muttered, "A bomb. You _know_ what those things _are_, don't you?"

"YES!" GIR exclaimed, jumping to attention. He thought for a moment, before his tongue slipped out of his mouth, "Eh… no."

Zim clenched his gloved hands tightly, and strained his jaw, as if he was about to say something. Instead, he thought different. Zim walked around GIR who stood, waiting for his master to explain the concept of a bomb.

"I try to make you into a better unit… to… _accept_ the challenge that The Tallest have given Zim…" Zim started. He slowly turned around outside of the hologram of the base, "And even then… you… _you_ still did not listen! You seem to have to be either insanely incompetent, or too power hungry… and either way you _do not OBEY!_"

GIR turned slowly to face his master, to apologize or something. But GIR realized… what would an apology do to fix the demolished base. But he still tried… GIR felt absolutely guilty and ashamed for once about his actions. "I… I am sorry…"

"No GIR…" Zim muttered, turning back around and opening the door to the hologram of the base, as defective as it was now, it still had to appear normal to the hyumans, "Apologies _don't_ cut it. Anyway, hurry up and get in here before somebody sees you out of disguise."

GIR was a little apprehensive at the sudden tone his master was using. It was suddenly… quiet… calm… to calm… what was he thinking? Planning? But GIR obeyed, not wanting to upset his master even more.

Once inside the base, or the hologram of the base, things where too quiet. There was the usual disguise of it, the room GIR had been sitting in normally watching T.V half an hour ago, before things went bad.

GIR turned around and closed the door slowly, wondering how even just a hologram could sound and move like the real thing. But as much as the base sounded the same, GIR did not like the sudden vacuum of silence him and his master seemed to be stuck in. GIR wanted to break the silence, but he wanted to start off with something other than an apology, since his master even said '_apologies don't cut it._' Fortunately… or unfortunately, he didn't have to break the silence.

"GIR." Zim simply said, and watched as the little robot turned around from the door. When the SIR unit saw what his master was holding, and how he was holding it, it made is antenna droop.

"Yes, master?" GIR asked slowly, the quiet tone to his own robotic voice a change from the usual constant barrage of high pitched squeals, screams and yells.

"I want you to take this and put it on," Zim walked towards GIR, handing over the little green doggie suit, "Put it on, and go out for a bit." GIR took the doggie suit, and Zim took off the covers that made his eyes look hyuman. Slipping off the wig as well, his own antennae slightly laying limp… tired, "Go out… and don't come back until I call you."

GIR took the doggie suit tentatively, "But… I could help master clean up."

"No GIR," Zim backed away from the SIR unit, "No. Just ob… listen to me this once… just go GIR."

GIR looked down at the green fabric in his hands. Flicking it out so he could step in it, he zipped it up and pulled the hood over his head. The shape of his eyes, looking half cut at the top because of GIR's saddened state remained the same, and yet… looked even sadder now that his eyes where much bigger in the doggie suit.

"B-but, master…" GIR started to protest, as what his master said started to get through the programming of pennies, paperclips and other things that made up GIR. He didn't like the sound of it… "I can help."

Zim's antennae rose, perking up and making himself appear a little larger. His tone was a little harsher, and his teeth where slightly bared, "_No_ GIR! Get out. That is an _order_."

GIR hung his head, and he turned to walk out the door. Closing it behind him, one last glance over his shoulder to see if maybe his master changed his mind was lost. His master's red eyes where narrowed, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the door to close behind GIR. When it was finally shut, GIR wondered about where he could possibly go.

_The park_, GIR thought. _There is always hyumans at the parks. Maybe they will play._ Walking down the sidewalk and towards the mouth of the cal-de-sac, GIR paused, looking back at the green house. _At least until master calls him back._

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**Thoughts? Leave a review if you must. :P**

**I don't know where I plan on going with this... who knows... inspiration may strike again, that is after all, how this one got started. But alert it if you want, because it may develop into a short story.**

**-Culpeo**


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